


With A Little Help From My Friends

by Megamarvelousnerd



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Angst with a Happy Ending, Beverly Marsh & Richie Tozier Are Best Friends, Depression, F/M, Fix-It of Sorts, Flashbacks, Grief/Mourning, M/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Richie Tozier Loves Eddie Kaspbrak
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:27:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28033134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Megamarvelousnerd/pseuds/Megamarvelousnerd
Summary: I don't think Bev would leave Richie behind so..
Relationships: Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh/Richie Tozier, Bill Denbrough/Mike Hanlon, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Comments: 6
Kudos: 20





	1. Oh, You're so good to me

After everything that happened with the Clown, Bev had noticed that Richie wasn't eating or doing anything besides holding himself up in his room in the inn. She completely understood because she also just lost two of her best friends but for Richie, it meant so much more he just lost the only love of his life and she couldn't imagine the pain he was feeling but she couldn't let the boy just make himself more upset and just stay in Derry to rot. She had been talking to Ben all day about what was going to happen after they left because she knew for a fact she couldn't leave her favorite trash mouth behind because she had seen Stan die and she couldn't do anything about it and she knew if Richie was left alone she would lose him too.

Richie reeked of alcohol and the man looked horrible as he sat up to see the door open, his glasses were still cracked and he couldn't bring himself to order another pair because those were the last things that Eddie touched and he couldn't let that go. He kept remembering all the memories he had with both Stan and Eddie. The only words that he could keep repeating in his head were "it's not fucking fair!" He could have saved Eddie in his mind and the losers just left him. "Just... If you're coming to give me a pep talk Just save it" he groaned and put the blanket over him. "Mike already said his goodbyes. I suppose you are too.."

Bev went and sat next to Richie "Sweetheart, I need you to just listen. Don't talk. Just listen to everything I have to say before you try and argue with me." She softly started to rub his back. "I want you to come back with me. I can't leave you like this... I couldn't save Eddie or Stan but Dammit, I'm gonna save you" She started to tear up. "I can't just let you rot in this shitty motel.." She held onto Richie tightly as she let herself absolutely sob. "You deserve to not be alone... Eddie would want you here. I know you felt something towards him. I don't wanna force you to say anything and we don't even have to talk about what happened okay?''

Richie immediately broke down into tears "I don't want your pity! You deserve to go somewhere nice with Ben but I don't deserve that. If it was up to me I would have stayed with him down there" he just curled up in Bev's chest. "I can't take away that from you or Ben. I just know he doesn't want me as a thorn in his side while you two go travel the world together'

Ben put a stop to everything Richie was saying really quickly. "First of all losers stick together and you definitely need some positivity and joy in your life.. we want to take care of you... You do deserve nice things. You have so much talent and we need you… we can't lose another friend. We want to keep you safe and happy" he ruffled Richie's hair and took a deep breath. Bev hummed and sighed softly "Before we leave I'm giving you a bath. No offense to you but your hair is super tangled, bud" she chuckled and rubbed her eyes. "I'm gonna brush it too. If that's okay with you"

Richie sighed softly and nodded "That's fine with me.." He wiggled her nose "I kinda smell like ass so I guess it's fine that you'll be seeing mine" he got somewhat of a smirk on his face as he slowly went into the Motel bathroom. "Don't call me a werewolf or something I know I'm super hairy" he slowly undressed and sat in the tub. 

Bev rolled her eyes and hummed “I’m not gonna call you names, Richie! You really don’t think I'm that mean do you?’ She teased and smiled. "Also if you need anything no matter what, we can do I know that we will try our hardest and fight tooth-and-nail to get you back to where you were before." She quickly started to massage the shampoo through Richie's hair. " your hair is a curly mess but I don't mind we should get you some shampoo that can work specifically for your hair because I can just tell that you use body wash for every single part of your body which is not good for your hair"

Richie had noticed himself start to slip which truthfully terrified him because maybe if Bev saw her she wouldn't want to help anymore even though that was completely not true his brain tried to convince him otherwise. He listened to her politely scold him. He hummed softly "Mommy.." He covered his mouth "I'm so sorry!" He frowned.

Bev smiled and hummed 'When I said anything you need. I mean anything.. of course you know you just have to tell me and Ben what we can do and we'll do what we can!" She continued to wash the shampoo out of his hair "We have an hour-long car ride so I would like you to get some sleep because you definitely need some" She had thought of something that would definitely help Richie while he was in this headspace. She quickly messaged Ben to see if he could grab a couple of Eddie's shirts so she could make a teddy bear and maybe even a blanket just so Richie had something to keep from his soulmate. 

As they all got in the car and started to head off Richie had begged that they make a quick stop by The Kissing Bridge because he had something that he needed to do, Ben, of course, was a little confused at first but he stopped and let Richie out to see him carving his & Eddie's initials and almost cried. Things weren't going to be easy but if this was going to help Ben and Bev didn't want anything more than to have their happy little trash mouth back.


	2. Know You're Not Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beverly and Richie finally find their new home with Ben

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thank you to everyone who listened to me Babble my ideas as I wrote them

Ben slowly drove to his house which was surrounded by the forest and the natural beauty of Nebraska; which was small compared to where Richie and Beverly were used to. He still enjoyed his farmhouse and felt pride in the fact that there's enough room for all of them. 

Bev smiled and hummed "This is beautiful,Ben!" She kissed his cheek. "What do you think,Richie?"

Richie sighed and put his face into Eddie's sweatshirt. "I don't know… I just want my home and my bed" He started to cry and panic "This is really sweet of you guys but I can't just pretend everything is gonna be okay. You can't just give me a bed and magically pretend i didn't lose my best friend..' He grumbled.

Ben sighed and hugged Richie. "That's not what I'm trying to do here, Little Ember. We miss them just as much as you do even if it doesn't feel like that"

Richie yelled and huffed angrily "I loved Eddie! I loved him more than I'll ever love anyone and I was too much of a coward to even do anything about it!" 

Bev's mood dropped as she heard Richie’s confession. She briefly covers her mouth with her hand before reaching out with the other to settle on his shoulder, “Honey, you aren’t a coward.” She shakes her head. "You were scared. Derry wasn't an open place and the problem was the town. The problem isn't you. It never was and it never will be" She wrapped her arms around Richie. "Do you wanna come lay down,Rich?"

Richie whined and sniffled “I wanna lay down. Wanna take a nap..” He was still pretty overwhelmed I mean the most sleep he got was on the car ride there. He was surprised when he felt Beverly carry him but didn't fuss too much about it.

Ben felt horrible about it but completely understood where Richie was coming from the poor boy was hurt and undoubtedly still very traumatized. "While you two take a nap I'll get some groceries and maybe some toys or something" he felt like maybe if he had things that made Richie feel more comfortable than he wouldn't feel as bad being in a new place.

Bev rubbed Richie's back as she laid next to him. "Hey shh.. I know it's probably just you being overwhelmed I'm not mad at you at all buddy" She hummed "How about I sing to you is that good?" She waited for Richie to nod and started to sing true colors to him. "your true colors are beautiful like a rainbow" as soon as she finished singing that part she noticed that Richie was asleep. She had looked out the window and saw a bluejay that had been sitting there for some time. In her head she thought maybe it could have been Stan visiting but she quickly shut that idea down. 

Ben did feel a little awkward walking down the toy aisle because they hadn't been there in years ,obviously, but he'd do anything for Richie to be comfortable. He grabbed a couple blocks and legos. He grabbed a few stuffed animals but not many because he knew that Bev was making the teddy bear for him already. He had a brilliant idea to get something to make the first night memorable. He grabbed poster board and some red finger paint so he could keep their handprints on the house forever. As Ben walked in the house he felt something against his leg which is quite strange but he heard it purring. "Oh hello there! You must be freezing…" he made sure that there wasn't a tag on it before he let him follow him in. 

Bev was finishing up on the teddy bear because she had a feeling that Richie wasn't going to be able to sleep without it. She heard Ben talking to someone which had her interest piqued. "Who are you talking to babe?" She gasped when she saw the small cat. "We had another little visitor who looked after Richie when he was napping" She sighed softly "Either it's just a really weird coincidence or they're checking up to see how we're doing" 

Richie ran into the room with frosting all over his face. "We made cupcakes earlier,Stack Stack!" He was trying to say Haystack but he guessed that stack stack worked too!

Ben rose a brow and chuckled " I can see that,Gremlin!" He ruffled his hair "So I had a little cat follow me in here if you would like to see them and maybe name them.." he didn't really plan on keeping it but if Richie got too attached he couldn't just give it away!

Richie squealed happily " I'm going to name you meatball.." He pet the cat happily " you're going to be the bestest cat ever!'' He hummed happily. 

Bev hummed and smiled " I just finished a little surprise for you Richie and I want you to see it and I think we should keep meatball you seem really happy just about the fact that he randomly waddled in" She slowly held out the bear. "This was made out of some of the clothes that Eddie left at the motel and I want you to have it because I know he would want to be around you and probably cuddle you if he was here" 

Richie started absolutely sobbing.. " you really didn't have to do this, this is so nice…" he hugged the bear as close to his chest as he possibly could. "We can really keep Meatball?" 

Ben nodded and put a reminder to get some cat food tomorrow "Before we all go to bed I want to do something to mark how special this really was" He got out the paint " okay I'm going to paint your hand first, Richie because it's probably the biggest then I'll paint mine and Bev's" after they all put their hand print on the board he hang it up on the wall to show that it was now their house. As they drifted to sleep with a new fluffy friend. Everything felt alright.


	3. Unfair Fun Fair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They go to a carnival, with good new memories and bad ones looming over.

It had been a few months since Richie had joined them and he thankfully was a lot better than he would have been without anybody to help him get through everything after losing Eddie and Stan.

Ben had noticed a fair was coming to town and he definitely thought that that was something right up Richie's Alley. He remembered when all of them were in high school and they went to Derry's canal days. He hoped this wouldn't bring any bad memories back but create new ones instead. Bev would enjoy it as well so it might be good for all of them just to enjoy themselves for a little while with no worries.

Bev was brushing out Richie's hair when Ben got home. "He somehow got sticks in his hair!" She teased and started to take leaves and twigs out. "I don't know what the hell he was doing!" She rolled her eyes. “Thankfully it’s not too unsalvageable 

Richie huffed and pouted "Meatball got loose in the bushes!" He sighed "I had to take her out! She was just running!'’ The cat was definitely an adventurous one but Richie loved to chase after her just as much as she loved to run away.

Ben sighed and smiled widely “I had an idea for us and you can say no of course! That’s totally okay” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I just thought we could go visit the fair. I just think it would be something good for Richie..” He looked a bit nervous.

Bev smiled slightly and rubbed her eyes “You’re such a sweetie, Honeybee! I think that would be really fun! You’re such a dear!” She hummed and hugged Ben “You’re such a good daddy! You think about what would make him happy.. I mean I'm only a little nervous about if there’s a clown..” She sighed softly.

Richie hummed and rose a brow “Where are we going?” He seemed very interested in what was happening around him. He always had to be in the center of the action “I wanna go!” He begged and pouted

Ben laughed slightly and smiled “Oh of course! There’s a fair coming and I really wanna take you. Me and Mommy wouldn’t just leave without you. At least I wouldn’t” He teased as he winked at Bev who just rolled her eyes. “I hope that it’ll be fun!” 

Everything was going fantastic, Ben won Richie a prize from a test your strength game which even though he wouldn’t admit it that made him feel quite good. Bev got a picture with her loves on top of the ferris wheel. Richie had loved all the somewhat rigged games. It was going great until it wasn’t.. 

Richie had dropped a piece of his snowcone into a puddle and watched it melt... He just froze as he felt himself go back to being thirteen and holding onto Eddie’s hand as Eddie led him all around. He was always trying to make Eddie pay attention to him and sometimes they got him in tough places. He was so excited to make it to the half broken down tilt a whirl that he had painted Henry Bowers' shirt with a red snow cone without noticing.

Richie and Eddie ran to somewhere safe so they wouldn’t end up with a broken nose. Eddie had taken Richie’s cheeks in his hands “Good Going, Asshole.. You always find some way to get yourself in trouble. Good Thing you have me to take care of you.. I won’t always be here you know but I’ll try to help you find someone who will.” The memory faded away as Richie’s hand was squeezed hard as Bev was trying to get his attention “W-What?” He finally snapped out of it with vomit coating his shirt. 

Bev hummed and smiled “We’re gonna head home. You got a little overwhelmed and ended up throwing up,Honey” Richie nodded and held onto Bev as tight as he could on the ride home and He had to end up sharing the bed with Ben and Beverly during the night because he was still pretty shaken up by his flashback even though it was a good memory now tinged with bittersweet emotions.

Maybe thirteen year old Eddie knew what he was talking about. He would always find some way to get Richie out of trouble and somewhere safe. He kept his promise throughout the time he remembered Richie. Now that he was gone, he made sure Richie didn’t end up without a safe home and people to protect him.


	4. It's my Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bev's Birthday!

Bev wasn’t much of a birthday person but she wouldn’t deny it was very sweet that Ben would throw a party just for her. Now That Richie was here it was also just an excuse to throw an even bigger and better party in Ben’s mind anyway. 

Richie had been drawing something all morning for Bev, It wasn’t like he was a fantastic artist but he was really putting in the effort to make a big teddy bear drawing for his mama. He colored it with bright neon colors. “Love you, Mama,” He wrote in big block letters. He put hearts all over the paper and drew little tiny cakes all over. He seemed really proud of himself.

Ben smiled down at him and giggled “Look at that! So fancy!” He clapped his hands happily “Bill and Mikey are heading down. I’m making Mommy breakfast in bed. Wanna help me with that, Sweetie?” He asked softly. He started on french toast, sausage and eggs, and some coffee. He put it on the TV tray and started to walk upstairs with the card and the food. "Wake up Sleepyhead!" 

Bev rubbed her eyes and gasped “Oh my god!” She started to tear up and blushed brightly. “Thank you so much. My beautiful sweet boys.” She slowly started eating her breakfast. “You’re so sweet!” She kissed Ben softly and kissed Richie’s cheek. “That was so sweet. I wanna frame the card! My cute little artist!”’

Richie snuggled into Bev’s chest “Happy Birthday, Mommy!” He kissed all over her cheeks and giggled. “Meatball loves Miss Mommy!” He squealed and pet the cat. “She loves you!”

Ben chuckled “You are very affectionate this morning, Little Guy. Maybe You’ll have a little buddy according to Mike!” He hummed “Bill has been small just like you which is so sweet right?” he rambled slightly. 

Bev rose a brow and smiled “Aw that sounds so sweet! Two little babies just for me!” She teased and ruffled Richie’s hair.

A few hours passed before there was a loud knock at the door. Bill was bundled up in at least four layers because of how cold it was out. As soon as Ben opened the door, Bill ran in and took off all his coats. Mike chuckled and hugged Ben “We were a little bit freezing if you couldn’t tell. Where’s the birthday girl?” He looked around the room and said “I don’t see her!’

Ben smiled slightly and hummed ‘She’s upstairs snuggling with Rich right now but I can go get her!”

Bill was more excited to see Richie so he followed behind Ben trying to be quite sneaky but Ben was able to figure out who was being his little shadow. “You can come with,buddy”

Richie heard the footsteps coming towards the door and seemed very excited when Ben opened the door. He practically knocked Bill over like an overeager lap dog. “Oh! I’m so glad you made it!"

Bill chuckled and gasped “Uh yeah of course we made it!” He and Richie ended up playing and running around the big house with Meatball until it was time to cut the cake. 

Bev blew out the candles and smiled at all of her family “I think I have everything I could’ve ever wished for.”


End file.
